Savannah McCaskill, right, scored in the 89th minute to give the Gamecocks the win against No. 5 Florida.
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Freshman Savannah McCaskill buried a header off a corner kick service from sophomore Chelsea Drennan with just under two minutes remaining to give South Carolina (10-4-1, 3-3-1 Southeastern Conference) a 3-2 upset win against No. 5 Florida (11-3-0, 6-1-0 SEC) on Thursday night at Stone Stadium. Tonight's win is the Gamecocks' second consecutive against the Gators, a program first.
The Gamecocks were on the hunt for the net from the opening whistle. South Carolina took an early 1-0 lead when Drennan took a Gator turnover at the edge of the Gamecocks' attacking third into the box and slotted the ball past Florida keeper Taylor Burke just two minutes into the match.
In the 34th minute, South Carolina added another tally. Shortly after checking in, sophomore Sophie Groff touched another Florida turnover over to McCaskill. The freshman calmly sent the ball into the net for a 2-0 Gamecock lead.
South Carolina's defense was swarming and limited the Gators to just two shots in the first half, but after the break, the Gators picked up momentum and came surging back with two goals from Havana Solaun.
Solaun tallied an unassisted goal to the upper right corner over Gamecock keeper Sabrina D'Angelo in the 66th minute and added the equalizer just 20 minutes later on a hard shot off a ball from Annie Speese.
With the game tied at 2-2 and just five minutes on the clock, the game looked to be headed to overtime. South Carolina earned a corner kick with just over two minutes on the clock. Drennan served the ball into the box and McCaskill headed it home for the first game-winner of her collegiate career.
If you weren't at Stone Stadium or watching @SECNetwork, you missed out. #Gamecocks upset No. 5 Florida 3-2: http://t.co/YAWi5Qt41i
— Gamecock W. Soccer (@GamecockWSoccer) October 17, 2014
